Saturday, August 22, 2015, was the Grand Opening of the new Paso Robles Grocery Outlet. I wanted to see if I could save money on products I have been buying somewhere else, so I decided to check out the new store. I made a list of what I would normally buy at Smart and Final and then went to see how I would fare with that list at Grocery Outlet. The plan was to see what I could find at Grocery outlet and pick up what wasn't there at Smart and Final, which was right on my way home. Pictured here is the Grocery Outlet entrance at 3 PM. I did not want to face the parking lot during the morning rush of people wanting freebies.
This is the produce department. That is normally the most important part of the store for me. I was looking for fresh peaches, apples, bananas, blueberries, and vegetables. I bought some good looking mushrooms and some grapes. The bananas, peaches, and apples were packed in bags. I prefer to buy mine individually, so I passed on those. I found my favorite frozen pizza brand at a good price so I bought some, but they didn't have frozen broccoli cuts -- just flowers, and I like it cut up more. I could not find a good selection of yogurts. There was a very good selection of packaged gluten-free and organic products, though. There were also close-outs of brands I did not expect to find there, such as some Kirkland juice in two-packs of really large bottles that won't fit in my refrigerator. Click any photo to enlarge it for a closer view.
This shows you most of what I bought at the Grocery Outlet. It's my cart contents ready to put in my car. Some of what I bought is covered by other items.
After I finished loading I went to Smart and Final to get my bananas, a quart of plain Greek yogurt, avocados, peaches, frozen broccoli and large sizes of red and white vinegar -- all of which were on my list.
In conclusion, if you have a shopping list you may not find everything on it at the Grocery Outlet. It's a bit like Costco. They stock what they get good buys on, and what you find one day may not be there on your next visit, but you may find products you didn't even know existed at a lower price than elsewhere. On the other hand, you'd better know your prices and check the ads of other stores before you shop, because not everything is priced lower there. Smart and Final is reliable about carrying the same brands consistently. It also has the bulk food department. They have a wider selection of frozen, dairy, and deli foods. Fortunately the stores are so close together that you can find almost everything you need at one or the other.
Have you visited the new Grocery Outlet yet? Did you find what you wanted there?
Daily photos of the Paso Robles / Templeton area of the California Central Coast
Showing posts with label groceries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label groceries. Show all posts
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Friday, May 8, 2015
G is for General Store
Until yesterday, I didn't realize Paso Robles had such a thing as a general store. However if you rid yourself of preconceived ideas of what a general store is, Paso Robles does have one. My idea of a general store was more in line with the ones found in small towns or in the early pioneer towns where a general store tried to carry everything a family might need to survive -- food, blankets, tools, seeds, fabric, kitchen utensils, whatever was essential for living daily life.
The General Store in Paso Robles is a bit different. It carries instead an assortment of goods that make life more pleasant and more fun -- for yourself or someone you want to gift. Its window says is has "local goods and provisions for pantry and home." Many of these are gourmet foods like jams, candied nuts, local vinegars, seasonings, olive oils, and wines. They also have a dairy case of local cheese and salami. As I was browsing, I was given a sample of the Paso Almond Brittle, and it was very tasty. Did I mention that the owner and the others manning the store were very helpful? No one will ignore you here.
Browsing the shelves is a lot of fun. It was especially so for me. I've had many years of experience selling books and buying them wholesale. I've been to Book Expo a couple of times and seen all that publishers have had to offer bookstores. Naturally my eyes were drawn to the book displays. I saw at least two of them. One had a lot of books on cooking and wine -- a wise choice for this area where foodies abound and wine tasting is a favorite leisure activity. But since I've specialized in children's and educational books for the past twenty years, I especially liked this display.
For nine of my years in retail I was a greeting card buyer. I attended gift shows twice a year and sales reps for card publishers called me often. My goal was to have beautiful tasteful cards that were uplifting and often humorous, but never in a mean or vulgar way. Naturally when I saw a card rack in a corner on the walls, I had to check it out. I'll just say that if a sales rep had showed me these cards, I would have bought them. They are a rare find. And they have some great ones for mothers. These are just a few in the display. You can make the photo larger by clicking it to read the words.
There's not enough room to show you the whole store. You will just have to go downtown to 841 12th Street see it for yourself. You can also preview the General Store website and their Facebook Page for a close look at some items I didn't show you here. It won't show you all the baskets, hats, books, wall hangings, towels, tote bags and other goodies you will find if you actually visit the store, though. Next time you are downtown, just stop in and look around. If you go before Mother's Day, you're sure to find something your mom or grown daughter would love -- even if it's just a bag of this scrumptious almond brittle.
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